Tracking County-Level Incarceration Rates in the United States

The Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit research organization, has released a dataset of nearly 148,000 records detailing county level incarceration rates in the United States. The dataset, which starts in 1970 and goes through 2015, shows a “rural jail crisis, ” in which many rural county jails are over capacity and many rural counties, such as Broome County, New York, send individuals to state prisons at rates higher than major cities. In addition, the dataset, which categorizes incarcerations by gender, age, and type of crime, highlights a racial divide. For example, in 2015, African-Americans were jailed in New York City at a rate ten times higher than whites.

Michael McLaughlin is a research assistant at the Center for Data Innovation. He researches and writes about a variety of issues related to information technology and Internet policy, including digital platforms, e-government, and artificial intelligence. Michael graduated from Wake Forest University, where he majored in Communication with Minors in Politics and International Affairs and Journalism. He received his Master’s in Communication at Stanford University, specializing in Data Journalism.